Method of identifying articles and such identified article.



PATENTED APR. 7, 1908.

V J. M. BOYLE. METHOD OF IDENTIFYING ARTICLES AND SUCH IDENTIFIED ARTICLE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR-14, 1907.

I w PL L ATTORNEYS:

- nection wit UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES M. BOYLE, OF' NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO EDWIN N. SANDERSON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.; HENRY HOBART PORTER, OF LAWRENCE, NEW YORK; FRANCIS. BLOS- SOM, OF MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY; RICHMOND TALBOT, OF TUXEDO, NEW YORK; AND RICHARD S. BUCK, OF MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY CONSTITUTING THE FIRM OF SANDERSON & PORTER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

METHOD OF IDENTIFYING ARTICLES AND SUCH IDENTIFIED ARTICLE.

. Patented April 7, 1908.

To all whom it may concern; I

. Be it known that I, JAMES M. BOYLE, a citizen of the United States, and resident of the city, county, and State of New York,

' have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Identifying Articles\and Such Identified Articles, of which the followinlg1 the accompanying drawings,

which form a art of the same.

This inventlon relates to a method of identifying articles, such for instance as railroad ties or rails bysecret or code indications, these indications being referably lines of definite length or an ar position determined by terminal marks so arranged as to ive certain code indications invol a efinite linear or angular distance. he position of the marks with respect to the mes may also give further code indications in connection with the absolute linear .01' angular distances. These terminal marks may comprise other distinguishing indica 'tions and in the case of railroad ties for instance, such terminal marks ma be in the form of metallic headed nails ort e like suite ably countersunk if desired.

11 the accompanying drawing diagrammatically showing illustrative embodiments of this mvention, Figure lis a top view of an identified railroad tie; Fig. 2 is'a side view of an identified rail section; 3 is an en-' larged view of an origin mark used for this purpose; Fig. 4 a similar view of a corresponding secondary or serial mark; Fig. 5 a similar view of a similar primary or batch mark; Fig. 6 is a side view of a suitable trammel scale for identifying these marked articles; Fig. 7 is a similar view of the reverse side of the scale, and Fig. 8 is a section substantially along the line 8'8of Fig. 1,

showing the method of applyingthe identifying marks toa tie.

As is seen in. igs. 1 and 2, the ident' lines 7-8 have their length accurate (y in icated by the terminal marks'employe these marks preferably having a center 'indication which allows the exact determination of the length of, the corres onding identification line. of these identification lines may be used in connection with a single article-to give'the is aspecification, taken in con-,

Ofcourse'any esired number cidental obliteration.

desired number of indications in connection therewith, and of course many kinds of articles may be identified in this manner, the

rail road tie and rail shown in the drawings being merely thus chosen for illustration. In a similar wayonly two'identification lines are indicated-in connection with each article and it is easy in this manner to employ a' common terminal mark for each of these lines, such as the origin mark 4,-which as indicated in detail in Fig. 3 may have a suitable center or origin indication 9 upon it. to determine the exact length and position of the lines. The primary mark 5 may also be provided with a similar center 13 in the form ofa deression or otherwise, for the same purpose.

his mark is also preferably provided with a suitable rojection or nose 49 which is turned in such irection with respect to the primary tion to the le th of the line. The secondary mark 6 may a so be provided with a suitable projection or nose 48 whose a ular position with respect to the secondary l inei8 may be used for identification, this mark being also provided with a suitable center 11 as indi:' cated in Fig. 4. 'These marks may of course be applied to an article in'any desired way, such as by stamping or im ressing them into an article which is a suita le method in "the case of a metallic article such as a railroad 'rail or beam, or the marks may be in the form of separate metallic marks or indicators that may be securely aflixed to the article inany desired way, such as by providing the marks with a suitab e nail to be driven; into thearticle into which the marks themselves maybe embedded to the desired extent, where this will be of. assistance,

In Figs. 1 and 8, separate marks or indicators are shown as app it d to a railroad tie the marks being in the form of a flat headed tack or nail which may be formed of copper or. any

other suitable material." the primary mark 5 having its shank 49 driven into'the tie l'to .the desired extent, and the mark itself embedded or countersunk into the body of the tie to the desired extent so as'to'eflectually prevent the withdrawal of the mark or its ac In this instance, a slight de ression 47- is indicated which has proved'e ective. The mark 6 in a similar way formed with one or more attaching shanks 48 and may be countersymkscffasto be located within asuitable depression a6; These marks can of course be readily driven into a tie. by any desired means, the distance of theprimary mark from the brigin mark being accurately determined andthe nose of or other article, as to give a code indication by such absolute distance, and the absolute angular distance between the identification lines or between one of such lines and any of I the lines of the article may also be used as a code'indication. The length of this primary line 7 may be used to indicate the batch number of the article, such as the-number which is common to the total daily or weekly batch of articles produced from a certain plant,

I. this batch number being preferably iridicated by the length of the primary'or batch line 7 and by the angular position of the primary or batch mark, with respect to that ne; that is the wa in which the nose of'this' mark is turned .v n a similar way the secondary line may be used for the indication of the serial number of the article its batch,

' this being readily indicated in a similar'manner by the length of this secondary or serial line, and theangular position of the secondary or serial mark with respect thereto. Other indications may be'used' in connection with these marks, such for instance as the desi nation of the railroad owningthc article,

'on the center mark, asindicated in Fig.- 3.

Suitable code designation for the plant where the articles were produced, which may as indicated be added to the secondary or serial v mark shown in Fig. 4, and also the year of scribed to the tie are not undesirably promiproduction, may be similarly indicated in code on the rimary or batch mark as shown in Fig. 5. hese marks when applied as denent and are furthermore not like y to be removed or obliterated, since this cannot readily be done, and the marks or indicators article, such as a railroad tie or rail with these where headed nails are used are so small as to be of practically no intrinsic value. The

code indications is not of course injured in any way-for its intended use, since as indicated in Fig. 1 the marks are preferably 'lo cated between the rails 2-3. Furthermore, these indications may be entirely secret and while not decipherable by the public may readily be decoded by the proper person.

A proper inspector can of course accurately measure the length of the batch and serial lines and also the angular distance between them, and in connection with the pro er code can translate these indications as we I asthe other indications or marks upon the article.

jiis of considerable assistance in decoding these marks and is shown as provided with the beam or scale rod 21 to which is affixed the head 22 by means of suitable screws 25. This removable trammel point 24' may be mountendplate26 and carries in a similar way the projection-30 and trammel point 31. This 34'and 35, shown. in Fig. 7, which cooperate with the scales 36 37 on the rod, the graduations'on' these scales not being numerically two trammel points at either end of the batch line 7 of thefti, that is,- by these points in the origin and t e other in the center of'thebatch mark the length of the ber can be immediately read off, the proper scale for such reading being marked in correspondence with the'position of the batch 'mark on the tie. This is'readil'y doneby the marks42, 43, 44 and 45 on the scale runner batch mark with respect to the rimary line whichmay be used. In a simi ar wa the exact length of theisecondary or 'seria line may be determinedby setting the trammel points and the corresponding serial number 3233' on the rod shown in Fig. 6 in connection with the indicators 2829. This scale in a similar way is the one which is marked by the representation 383940 and 41, which correspond withthe position of the secondary or serial markon the tie itself. 'Of course such a scale could be used in a similar m anner in decoding similar indications stamped uponthe web or other part of a rail 'or similar metallic article, as indicated in Fig. 2. J

. Having described this invention in connection with several illustrative examples or embodiments thereof, to the details, of which it is not limited, what is claimed as newand what it is desired to be secured by Letters- Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

1. The method of identifying railroad ties which consists in permanently embedding therein a metallic origin mark, in similarly tions.

The trammel scale indicated in Figs; and I he'ad'carries the projection 23 upon which the runner is provided with suitable indicators pllacing one of batch lineis'accurately determined and the scales are'so graduated that the batch numwhich correspond with the positions of the.

embedding therein a primary mark located ed. The'runner 27 is slidably mounted upon the rod and held permanently thereon by the indicate'd i'n this; drawing. By placing the can then be instantly read off the proper scales its indications in connection therewit scams 2. The method of identifying railroad ties which consists in permanently embedding therein metallic marks located at such distances apart as to form identifying lines of definite length to ive code indications, said marks being in suc position with respect to said lines as to give code indications.

3. The method of identifyin railroad ties which-consists in afiixing mar thereto at such distance apart as to form an identifying line, giving a code indication by its length, said marks being in such position with respect to said line as to give a code indication.

4. The method of identifying railroad ties which consists in providing marks thereon located at such distances'apart as to form an.

identifying line, giving a codeindication by its length. I i

5. The method of identifyin articles which consists in providing marks t ereon located at such distances apart as to form identifying lines whose lengths give code in.

dications, said marks being insuch position with respect to such lines as to give code forming identifying lines giving code indications.

8. The method of identifying articles which consists in-providing marks thereon forming a plurality of. identifying lines on each article giving code indications.

9. The method of identifying articles which consists in providing marks thereon whose position ive code indications involving an absolute .ance.

10. The method of identifying articlesv which consists in providing marks" thereon forming an 'identifying line whose length gives a code indication.

11. The identified railroad tie rovided with permanently embedded metal ic origin and primary and secondary marks, having indications thereon and having such relative locations as to form primary and secondary lines whose length give code indications in connection with said marks.

12 The identified railroad tie having aflixed thereto a plurality of marks forming lines giving code indications.

13. The identified railroad tie provided with marks thereon whose relative position gives code indications, involving an absolute length.

14. The identified article provided with" JAMES M. BOYLE:

Witnesses:

GEO. E. WAEscHE, HARRY L. DUNCAN. 

